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The incumbent serves as a Program Support Assistant in the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Patient Advocacy Office aligned under Associate Director. The incumbent will support the Office of Patient Advocacy and patient experience efforts for Veterans who are receiving care and support at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The incumbent will manage and execute phone calls and face to face interactions from Veterans seeking assistance from the Patient Advocate Office.
Learn more about this agency01/27/2023 to 02/15/2023
$43,771 - $56,899 per year
GS 6
1 vacancy in the following location:
No
No
Not required
No
Term - Not to Exceed 3 years
Full-time -
Competitive
None
No
No
CBSR-11817335-23-AF
702820800
Current or former competitive service federal employees.
Current excepted service federal employees.
Current federal employees of this agency.
Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.
This position is open to status eligible applicants and VEOA eligibles. Current, permanent employees of the Cincinnati, OH VA Medical Center will receive first consideration. Interchange agreements must be met.
The major duties of the Program Support Assistant position include:
Program Support:
The Program Support Assistant utilizes PATS-R to assist the patient advocates in handling Veteran complaints that come through a variety of avenues. The Program Support Assistant aligns the PATSR, Report of Contact (RoC), to the appropriate Patient Advocate who forwards the inquiry on to the service line for service recovery. Many times, the Program Support Assistant is the one to reach out to the service line for additional input that it added to the PATSR RoC. The incumbent retrieves data from Veteran Signals (VSignals) and enters all VSignals comments into a useable data excel software in order to then manually transferred into the PATSR system. The information assists in identifying opportunities for departmental growth and satisfaction related to improved customer experience.
Program Support Assistant conducts monthly service line email group reviews which results in identifying Service Line Advocates (SLA) and Service Line Users (SLU) that are not granted credentials (license/provisions) within the PATSR system. Each quarter an audit is performed that requires the service line to commit to the following: 1) SLA/SLU's have a process for addressing PATSR concerns that come from the Office of Patient Advocacy; 2) SLA/SLU email owner has certificated email group; and, 3) confirm that all SLA/SLU's are appropriate individuals for addressing PATSR concerns. The importance of these reviews/audits is critical to the National OPA timelines in which customer concerns are to be addressed.
The incumbent will use the VA Medical Center's established initial intake responsibilities-to include receipt of information from veterans and appropriate investigatory and resolution alpha numeric assignment to patient advocates.
Customer Service:
The incumbent will also help assess Veteran's needs; identifies problems; help resolve problems; identifies solutions, and tracks concerns raised by Veterans.
Incumbent serves as the initial intake when Veteran's present (virtually or in person) with an inquiry related to their (Veteran) treatment/care experience. The dialogue is accurately captured within the data system of PATSR where all Report of Contact's are maintained. This new system, Patient Advocate Tracking System, Replacement (PATSR) is the sole database for entering and tracking customer inquiries (concerns, compliments and recommendations). This involves incumbent having to engaged with customers in order to capture all details surrounding their inquiry.
Outreach:
Incumbent also serves as a Program Support Assistant conducting internal outreach for the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The incumbent will periodically manage a call list of Veterans to reach out to and follow up with to educate and support the efforts to maintain Veterans active enrollment in VA health care at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (Office of Patient Advocacy)/PD914700
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.
There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 02/15/2023 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11817335.
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/702820800. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?
The Cincinnati VA Medical Center is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, Ohio and Fort Thomas, Kentucky serving fifteen counties in Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana with six Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH, and Georgetown, OH. Cincinnati VAMC also supports a secondary campus located in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky and two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division. For more information please visit our website at www.cincinnati.va.gov or find us on Facebook at Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
